


I can make you feel alive [Coffee Shop AU]

by sadghostboy



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale manages the coffee shop, Crowley Loves Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley is a uni student, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, In love with each other but they don't know it, Jealous Aziraphale (Good Omens), Jealous Crowley (Good Omens), Love at First Sight, M/M, They/Them Pronouns for Beelzebub (Good Omens)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:07:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22291549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadghostboy/pseuds/sadghostboy
Summary: When 24 year old Aziraphale takes over management of the coffee shop Shadwell's from his retiring employers, last thing he expected was to fall in love with a new regular, 22 year old Crowley, looking to fuel his caffeine addiction to aid him in completing his never ending university assignments.tumblr :  very-gay-omens.tumblr.com
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 49
Kudos: 111





	1. Just a drip

“Y-you want me to what?”, Aziraphale questioned, staring at his employers in utter confusion. “We want **you** to take over management of Shadwell’s! We’re retiring and instead of finding someone new to take over, we’d be more comfortable with you becoming manager. We know you love this place like we do, so have a think about it.” Sergeant, one of the co-owners, further explained to Aziraphale as Tracy, the second of the co-owners, nodded and smiled. 

When Aziraphale had dropped out of university at age 20, he had ran all over looking for work, dropping his CV at every establishment he could find. After a few weeks of job hunting he stopped into his regular coffee shop for a hot drink and a chat with the owners. 

“How’s the job hunt going dear?” Tracy asked, with that usual warm smile. “Abysmal Tracy, absolutely abysmal”, came the young man’s response, “either they aren’t hiring or I wouldn’t be a good fit or-” 

“Aziraphale, calm down”, Tracy attempted to stop his spiralling. “Look, me and the Sergeant have been thinking,” Aziraphale shifted his gaze back from the depths of his tea to match Tracy’s eyes, containing a glint of excitement, “what if we gave a job here? You already know most of the regulars and we trust you to make us proud.” 

With a hug, a kiss on the cheek and a small cry of happiness, Aziraphale accepted the job offer. Now, 4 years later, he was being asked to take over from the older couple. Unable to bear the thought of some strangers taking over Shadwell’s, Aziraphale again accepted the offer proposed. 

Despite the sadness of not being able to work with Tracy and the Sergeant, Aziraphale was quite happy to finally be able to modernise the shop a bit. Obviously, he still needed approval from his bosses, but they weren’t too fussed as long as they didn’t need to use the new cash registers and keep the several social media pages up to date. 

After a successful social media campaign which gained Shadwell’s a fair amount of online attention, Aziraphale announced a grand re-opening event, despite the fact that the coffee shop had not changed much. The shop had filled up with customers at the event, mainly hipsters looking for a vintage spot to hang out in and university students fueling their caffeine addiction to try to keep track of the never-ending assignments and deadlines. 

Shadwell’s had gained a few more regulars from the event, in particular one named Anthony J. Crowley, who had caught Aziraphale’s eye immediately as he sauntered through the door - causing him to almost spill scorching hot milk on himself, having been in the middle of some latte art. Despite being generally quite confident with customers for his entire time as a barista, Aziraphale had to stumble and stutter his way through the next few orders, completely thrown off by this devilishly handsome man that had stepped into his coffee shop. 

Finally he reached the counter, “Oh, um, hello there! Welcome to Shadwell’s, what could I get for you?”, Aziraphale bumbled through his usual introduction attempting to limit the amount of eye contact to attempt to maintain his composure. The redhead pulled his sunglasses from his face with a smirk, easily picking up on the nervousness of the barista in front of him. “Hey, could I get an iced brewed coffee, A-aziraphale?”, the customer questioned the barista’s name, “I swear I’ve heard that name before somewhere”. 

“Y-yeah i’ll get that order to you in a few minutes,” the barista paused in contemplation. “My parents are pretty interested in religion so they named me after an angel,” Aziraphale trailed off, stepping to the side to prepare the order, blushing both from having to explain his name and from being in such close proximity to this attractive man. Observing Aziraphale prepare his coffee, the 22 year old university student felt drawn to the angel namesake in a way he never had, and the pride flag hanging on the wall gave him hope. 

Aziraphale turned around with his order to see him leaning over the counter with a softer smile, “I’m Anthony, but my friends call me Crowley”. “So what should I call you?” Aziraphale retorted, with a sudden wave of confidence, “Oh, Aziraphale you can call me any time,” Crowley answered with a wink and his smirk returned at the sight of the barista turning scarlet. 

Crowley camped out at a table not too far from the counter with his coffee while Aziraphale decided to make himself an iced coffee to try and calm down. After the remark from the redhead, his brain had basically shut down. He had to continue to flounder through the rest of the small wave of customers before he could have a proper sit down for his break. Crowley observed the barista from his meticulously chosen seat. Sure, he should be getting on with the assignment that he had due tomorrow, but it was much more fun to stare at the angel namesake getting on with his day. 

On his breaks (or when things were a bit slow), Aziraphale liked to get in a bit of reading, which captivated Crowley further as it added to the southern pansy with an old soul aesthetic the barista fully encompassed. Normally Crowley was attracted to men with harder exteriors, punks and goths, typical bad boy types. Although this is probably because these were the groups he hung out with, and they were the types attracted to him. Seeing a polite barista with soft blond curls and a bow tie pulled at a new heart string Crowley wasn’t aware existed. Usually he liked to play the long game, subtle looks and constant flirting would regularly lead other men to chase after him, but he could sense that Aziraphale was different. 

Deciding to start up a conversation with the barista, Crowley quietly strolled over to Aziraphale’s table. “Hey, what are you reading?” the student questioned, causing the barista to jump in his skin. Turning around in his seat, Aziraphale replied, “h-hi! I’m reading The Martian, well, again”, 

“is that the one about the botanist on Mars?”, 

“yeah! I think it’s a really interesting read because it gives a new perspective to a genre that has been used a lot in very similar ways-”, Crowley tilted his head in confusion to Aziraphale suddenly stopping in his tracks. 

“I apologise, I start to ramble when I get asked about literature,” he trailed off, staring down at his feet. “No need for that _angel_ , I found it rather charming,” Crowley attempted to reassure the barista, however the new nickname just turned Aziraphale back into a blushing, hot mess. 

A couple of customers entered Shadwell’s and Aziraphale saw his opportunity to escape Crowley. “I’ve gotta go and-” “yeah I’d better get back to my assignment.” The two parted ways as Crowley slinked back into his booth as Aziraphale hopped behind the counter to start on the new orders. Business picked up a bit so Crowley had to settle for giving occasional glances and smirks to the barista, but ultimately he had to face the reality that this assignment was due tomorrow so he really had to finish it. 

Once he actually focused on his work, it turned out that it wasn’t as hard as he thought and soon Crowley was packing his papers away and returning his cups to the counter, both to be polite and to see Aziraphale again. “Here’s my cups, angel”, the barista spun around to see Crowley at the counter, “oh, thank you! By the way, what should I call you?”, still becoming flustered by the nickname the student had given him. 

“I told you, any time,” Crowley smirked. 

“Well, I don’t have your number,” Aziraphale retorted with a new found confidence. Slightly taken aback Crowley lent over the counter, “are you trying to get my number angel?”, 

“Maybe”, 

“Pass me a napkin”, the barista handed over a paper napkin for the student to write his number on. He was shaking anxiously, being in a situation very new to him, but Aziraphale wanted to come across as confident in front of the ripped jeans wearing, punk redhead. Crowley handed the napkin back and Aziraphale stuffed it in his back pocket, “it’s your choice angel, but I’m more than happy for you to call me Crowley,” and with a smirk, wink and spin on his heel, Crowley returned to his table to grab his bag then left the coffee shop. Stopping at the door to turn around and shouting “Can’t wait to hear from you angel!” towards the counter with a wide smile before through the door open and making his exit, leaving Aziraphale flushed with a warm heart. _Oh Lord_ , he thought to himself, _I think I’m falling_. Little did he know, on the way home, Crowley was cursing himself for falling too. 


	2. Just a sip

“You never called me, angel,” Crowley came out with when he entered Shadwell’s the next day. 

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to,” Aziraphale had mumbled, embarrassed at himself for reading the signs wrong - again. He could sense a slight tone of upset in the other’s voice, although Crowley’s smirks did a good job of hiding it. 

“Of course I did! I don’t just give my number out to anyone,” Crowley winked, “oh, and could I get an iced mocha please angel.” “Yes, of course Crowley,” Aziraphale replied with a blush. 

After Crowley grabbed his drink, he settled back into the same table as the day before, pulling out a stack of papers and his laptop. Aziraphale gazed at the mess on the table while he waited for an espresso to finish brewing, _how the hell could that be organised_. Although, nothing about Crowley was organised; his hair, his clothes or his university work. The student knew what he was doing most of the time though, finding calm in the chaos, and got on with his work. 

It wasn’t too long until things slowed down, allowing Aziraphale to take a break. He considered going to sit with Crowley, but the sight of the student furiously slamming on his keyboard made the barista reconsider. Instead, he thought he’d finally make use of the number he’d been given. He had already saved Crowley’s number as a contact, so Aziraphale started a new message, musing over several potential texts (including puns, pickup lines or just ‘hi’). Finally he settled for- 

**Aziraphale: How’s your assignment coming along?**

He felt proud of himself for finally making a decision, before realising there was no name attached to the text and Crowley would have no clue who had texted him. Even better Aziraphale watched the student pick his phone up from the table as his brows furrowed in confusion. He savoured the moment of Crowley looking so caught off guard, as despite the fact that Aziraphale had only met him yesterday, he got the sense that this didn’t happen often. A moment later Aziraphale decided to show some mercy- 

**Aziraphale: Sorry, this is Aziraphale.**

Crowley looked up from his phone, searching for the barista with a wide smile across his face. He’d gotten worried it was a random person from his course asking for help, or something to that effect. Relieved at the revelation that it was Aziraphale checking up on him, he motioned for the barista to come over to his table. 

“I’m guessing you’re on break then, angel?” Crowley asked as Aziraphale reached for a chair, “yeah, I saw an opportunity,” the barista replied with a nervous laugh while sitting down across from the student. 

“Scared the shit out of me you know, I thought I’d forgotten about a group project or something!” Crowley exclaimed, a slight laugh leaving his lips as he moved a few papers out of the way for Aziraphale. “Well, perhaps you should be more organised with things then Crowley.” the barista retorted with a smirk, although his cheeks blushed and his eyes wide. Crowley’s heartbeat picked up at the sight, his own cheeks gaining some colour. 

“There’s a method to my madness, angel!” the student called back, picking up some paper that _definitely_ hadn’t been lost 5 minutes ago. “If you say so! What’s this assignment anyway?” Aziraphale questioned Crowley, sending the student into a rant about university, his ecology course and some weird professor. 

Despite the fact that Aziraphale couldn’t really follow the conversation, having no knowledge of ecology or the relevant professors, he still enjoyed watching Crowley talk about something he was clearly passionate about. Arms flailing, eyes wide and eyebrows raised, the student spoke about his university life while the barista sat and listened, giving the odd nod, smile or laugh in the appropriate places. 

“- so then I was like -”, Crowley’s rant was interrupted by the sound of the bell attached to the door, announcing a customer’s entrance. Aziraphale kept gazing at Crowley, apparently not realising that the bell had gone, judging by the way he made no effort to move. 

“Angel, you better get back to work.” Crowley gestured towards the door. “Wha-” Aziraphale jumped, taken off guard, “Oh, yes, I should, shouldn’t I?” Aziraphale stood up, “you’d better get back to your work too Crowley”, he pointed out, motioning to mountain of paper on the table. “Yeah, I will angel”, Crowley muttered back, glaring down at his assignment plan. 

Aziraphale hopped back to behind the counter to see to the new customers while Crowley got into his work. It wasn’t long until the last usual rush of the day started, keeping Aziraphale swept up in a routine of serving, cleaning and repeating. By the time the rush ended, Aziraphale was ecstatic to re-join Crowley and hear about his strange professors, but the student had seemingly finished his work for the day and had just finished packing away. 

“Did you finish your assignment okay?” Aziraphale asked, while wiping a table nearby. “Yes, angel, it wasn’t too bad once I got the plan sorted out, did you manage with the rush okay?” Crowley continued the conversation while absentmindedly packing away the rest of his papers. 

“Yeah, well, apart from the rude customers,'' Aziraphale replied with a smile, standing next to Crowley’s table. Throwing his bag over his shoulder, Crowley placed a hand on Aziraphale’s arm with a returning smile, “some people can be right arseholes angel, nothing to do with you.” 

“I’m off then, see you around Aziraphale,” Crowley slipped past the barista towards the door, stopping before the exit to spin around and throw an extra smile Aziraphale’s way as he replied, “bye Crowley!” to the student. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Sorry for the slightly late update everyone, I had a busy weekend so I didn't have much time to get into the swing of things.  
> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated, and a special thank you to those who commented on the first chapter!  
> Chapter 3 should be up in the next few days :)


	3. Can I beat it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley and Aziraphale's new friendship is going steady until a group project creates a rift.

Getting hounded by more and more assignments everyday, homework packs to complete and presentations to create, Crowley found solace in the slight buzz of the coffee shop. And he got to see Aziraphale, which was a huge bonus. Although this would often result in a lack of completed work. Doing extra work everyday after his lectures did mean he was starting assignments earlier, so he was still meeting deadlines. 

After Crowley had stopped by Shadwell’s everyday after university for a week, Aziraphale realised this was the new routine, and he wasn’t complaining in the slightest. It was something to look forward to. 

Despite becoming a bit swamped from the massive load of new responsibilities as manager, Aziraphale had settled in quite well after a few weeks, and a month later he was completely at ease and enjoying his bigger paycheck. The wave of new regular customers had been pretty daunting, as their had only been a few before the influx of business, so it was difficult to remember everyone’s ‘usual’. 

When Crowley returned to Shadwell’s after their first meeting, Aziraphale had been pleasantly surprised. Having read the student as a typical non committal flirting kind of guy, the barista tried his best to forget the student, especially since he had a tendency to get crushes (and consequently have his heart broken) extremely easily. 

The pair had been texting quite frequently, although this was mostly Crowley sending Aziraphale memes that the poor barista could barely understand, and the student trying to explain them. 

“You’ve had about 4 texts in the 2 minutes you’ve been at the bathroom,” Beelzebub commented when Crowley returned to the couch, “you do not have that many friends Anthony J. Crowley.” 

“I know we live together, but do you have to look at my phone,” Crowley muttered, picking up his device while flopping next to Beelzebub, suppressing a smile while glancing at the sender of the texts. 

“Oh is it that barista you’re in love with again?” Beelzebub teased. 

“Fuck off B!” Crowley quietly spat, grabbing the remote and resuming the show the two of them had been watching. Beelzebub watched their housemate’s face soften as he checked his phone. Crowley wasn’t bad to live with, he kept things clean and tidy, and he didn’t make too much noise. When they moved into the same student housing, they’d never met. They weren’t _friends_ so to say, but they weren’t _not friends_. They could tolerate each other, which was more than Beelzebub could say with past housemates they’ve had. 

“Right, I’m off, I’ve got to work on that pair project.” Crowley hopped up from the couch, fixing his denim jacket and grabbing his bag. 

“You sure you want Aziraphale to meet Hastur? He probably won’t let you back in his shop,” Beelzebub giggled as Crowley’s face turned to utter disgust. 

“The only way I’m getting through this group project is if angel is there.” Crowley muttered back, “Oh, _**Angel**_?” Beelzebub repeated, a wide smirk across their face. “Just shut up B!” Crowley shouted back, leaving with a slam of the door. 

The walk to Shadwell’s was excruciating. On one hand, Crowley was looking forward to seeing Aziraphale, but on the other, he had to see Hastur. They were both on the same Ecology course, so Crowley knew first hand how much Hastur flirted with everyone he met, and apparently had no idea when they weren’t interested. The thought of Hastur flirting with Aziraphale made his heart sink into his arse. He had been on the receiving end of Hastur’s flirting, so he knew how uncomfortable it made people. _I’ve fucked this haven’t I_ \- Crowley cursed himself, turning the corner and spotting the sign for Shadwell’s. 

As he got closer, he saw a familiar blond head of hair sitting at the nearest table to the counter. He also saw Aziraphale, looking highly confused behind the counter, staring at the sitting blond. Regretting all of his life decisions up to that point, Crowley walked through the door to Shadwell’s, hoping to be able to salvage this day at all. 

Hearing the doorbell, Aziraphale took his chances and hoped the customer would come to order something complicated immediately. To his excitement, Crowley sauntered through the door, “Hey Aziraphale!” he exclaimed as he got closer. 

“Hello Crowley, what can I get you?”, the barista spoke softly with eyes that screamed _Help Me_. “Can I get uhhh-” Crowley looked up at the menu and picked some new complicated drink and relished in the sight of Aziraphale’s face relaxing. 

As the barista turned to make Crowley’s drink, the student felt a firm hand on his shoulder and looked to find Hastur with a big grin, “Hey Anthony! You ready to do this?” _Why is he so fucking excited to do an assignment?_ \- Crowley responded with a smile and a “Uhh, yeah!” which, by the look he got from Aziraphale, wasn’t very convincing. Luckily, Hastur was paying little to no attention and sat back down on the table with his laptop to open up what he’d already been working on. 

“Why don’t we go sit over there? It’ll be quieter,” Crowley suggested, trying to get Hastur as far away from Aziraphale as possible. “I haven’t ordered yet!” Hastur retorted, gesturing to Aziraphale who was slowly making his way through Crowley’s drink. “What do you want? I’ll get it for you,” Crowley offered again, “iced coffee please _dear_ ,” Hastur spoke sarcastically, giving the other student a playful push that sent shivers down his spine in disgust. He stood, grabbed his things and started setting up on the new table while Crowley stood at the counter. 

Aziraphale returned with Crowley’s order, “Who the hell is that Crowley?”, the barista questioned with a pained expression. “I know, angel, I know.” Crowley sighed, “he’s on my course, he’s called Hastur and we got paired up for an assignment. I thought it would be okay meeting up here to do work, but I uhm- I regret that decision.” Crowley spoke with an apologetic tone, adding a small awkward smile at the end for good measure. “It’s okay Crowley, what drink did he want?” Aziraphale responded, grateful that the student had gotten Hastur as far away from him as possible. 

Crowley repeated Hastur’s order and as Aziraphale started to prepare it, it dawned on him that Crowley would have to sit and deal with that irksome man’s awful flirting for however many hours they would have to spend on this project. And he wouldn’t be there to help. _Not that other people can’t flirt with Crowley_ , he pondered, _we are just friends after all_ , but- Aziraphale’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the espresso machine finishing the drink. He completed the order and handed the drink to Crowley with an empathetic look, “Good luck, dear,” he softly spoke as Crowley turned towards the corner Hastur sat in. The student turned around with a smirk, “Thanks angel, I’ll see you when I get back from hell”, and joined Hastur in the corner. 

After handing Hastur his drink, Crowley pulled the bag from his shoulder to pull out his laptop and the assignment overview. The pair discussed the specifics and allocated roles without incident, and Hastur even made a few jokes which weren’t inappropriate in any way. 

As the students worked, Aziraphale kept glancing over to keep an eye on Crowley. Even though he had seemed quite unenthusiastic to be working with Hastur, Crowley appeared to be having fun. Laughing and keeping up good conversation, Aziraphale wished he could’ve been in Hastur’s shoes. Just sitting and chatting with Crowley would’ve been heaven compared to the slow afternoon he was having. 

“I think I’m going to go for a smoke break, you want one?” Hastur declared while standing from his seat, picking up his box of cigarettes and motioning them towards Crowley. “I’m good, thanks. I might get another drink, you want anything?” Crowley responded, staring at Aziraphale sitting alone at a table as he usually did while on break. “Nope” Hastur responded, spinning on one foot to leave for the door. 

Aziraphale looked up as the doorbell sounded and watched Hastur walk outside. Peering back towards the corner, he could see Crowley making his way through the maze of tables towards him. Almost falling over twice, Crowley exclaimed, “This is why I never sit over there, angel, makes it way harder to come and see you on your break!”, as Aziraphale giggled at the clumsy student. 

“Wow angel, I come to give you some company on your break and you laugh at me? That’s low,” Crowley joked. “I’m sorry Crowley, but you would’ve done the same,'' Aziraphale got out as his giggling continued. As Crowley took a seat next to the barista, he calmed down, facing the student with a smile. “So how is the assignment going?” Aziraphale asked. “Not too bad, Hastur hasn’t been as overbearing as usual and we seem to get on fine. I think we’ve even got the same taste in music, and I really didn’t take Hastur for a Nirvana fan,” Crowley spoke as he reflected on the past hour, maybe he’d been too harsh on him. Plus Hastur really did have a few good tunes based on what Crowley had seen playing from his phone while they completed their individual parts of the project. 

“It’s good that you guys are getting on,” Aziraphale observed, although remained internally confused. _Hastur’s flirting was so creepy before Crowley came in, how could they be getting along?_ Aziraphale mused, _unless_ \- _Crowley **likes** him_. As the realisation dawned on him, a tone of disappointment must have worked its way into Aziraphale’s expression because a second later, Crowley was asking the barista if he was alright. 

“Yeah, sorry I just uh- best get back to work.” Aziraphale jumped up from the table, turning to get back behind the counter. Looking over towards the window, Crowley spotted Hastur stamp out the last of his cigarette and head for the door. “I should probably get back to my project, see you in a bit angel.” The student returned to his table with Hastur, but kept glancing towards the barista. Something had seemed up, but Crowley didn’t want to press Aziraphale about it. _I mean, we’re friends but maybe just not that close_ \- he guessed, even though he felt comfortable sharing a lot with the barista. 

Hastur joined Crowley at the table and the two returned to their work. Exchanging laughs and conversation in between minutes of typing, they worked through the rest of the assignment and finished up within the next hour. Crowley had caught Aziraphale staring at him countless times, so after checking his face in his phone camera to make sure there was nothing on it, he worried about what he had done. There was nothing he could think that he had done to Aziraphale, but determined it had something to do with the upset he could see in the barista’s eyes earlier. 

“So if you just send me those files in an email, I can print everything off. If you could get to our 9am Friday lecture half an hour earlier, I’ll have the whole thing sorted so you can have a check through and we can make sure we’re happy with it.” Hastur spoke while packing away his things, while Crowley sat in contemplation staring at the completed work on his screen. “Yeah I’ll do that Hastur, see you then.” He muttered, “See you then Crowley,” Hastur replied while slipping away from the table and leaving Shadwell’s. 

Crowley let out a sigh before closing down his device and gathering the paper that had made its way all over the table. Once he shoved everything back into his bag, the student glanced over towards the counter and spotted Aziraphale staring at him once again. His chest filled with worry over why the barista had been acting so weird, and Crowley wasn’t used to caring what people thought of him. _Aziraphale is different_ \- he supposed, but decided not to think any harder about _why_ he was different. 

Joining the barista at the counter, Crowley asked Aziraphale, “Look, are you sure you’re okay? You seem really off today and I’m worried about you”. He spoke with a serious tone and concern in his eyes, a combination Aziraphale had never seen from Crowley. His mouth felt dry as he pushed out a reply, “Just, um- you and Hastur seem to uh- get on really well. You guys have um- so much in common and I-”, Aziraphale stopped as he felt a hand softly touch his shoulder. Gently moving into the touch, Aziraphale looked up from his shoes and met Crowley’s eyes. “Are you worried that I won’t be friends with you because we don’t have the same taste in music?” Crowley questioned, with a friendly smirk, “Because that doesn’t matter to me, angel. Plus, it just means I get to introduce you to some good music! I like that we’re into different things, the only people that I usually get to have conversations with are your standard emos and punks, not even the cool ones,” Crowley trailed off while Aziraphale let out a small giggle. 

With a blush spreading across his face, Aziraphale picked up Crowley’s hand from his shoulder and placed it in his. “Thank you, dear. I always worry that I’m too boring,” Aziraphale muttered, returning his vision to his shoes, seemingly shrinking in on himself. Crowley’s free hand reached out and pulled up on Aziraphale’s chin, the barista’s wide eyes meeting the student’s gaze. “I think you’re perfect,'' Crowley whispered, his pupil’s dilating at the shock that he had managed to put a small amount of his feelings surrounding Aziraphale into the world. Aziraphale remained speechless, waiting for moment Crowley’s smirk returned and he revealed he was just joking. 

Instead, the moment was broken by the doorbell sounding, as the two owners entered the shop. The pair jumped apart at the noise and attempted to regain their composure. Aziraphale performed his usual nervous routine of checking his collar, bowtie, shirt and apron. Meanwhile, Crowley grabbed his bag from the floor, swung it over his shoulder and shoved his hands into the pockets of his denim jacket to tug it back into place. 

“I’ve got to get going, see you later angel!” Crowley called behind him as he walked out of Shadwell’s, quickly thanking the Sergeant for holding the door for him. He glanced through the window as he strolled past, and met Aziraphale’s gaze once again. They both must have looked like a right state to anyone watching. And Madame Tracy had a knack for always catching things like this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!  
> Sorry this chapter took so long to write, but it's got a higher word count than the first 2 chapters put together, so hopefully that makes up for it!  
> Kudos and comments are very much appreciated!!  
> <3


	4. Would I see it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the incident at Shadwell's, Crowley and Aziraphale don't know how to feel. Aziraphale gets some weird shifts at work all of a sudden, so Crowley doesn't see him for a few days and gets worried.   
> They catch up over drinks, and chaos occurs.

“He seemed in a hurry!” the Sergeant observed as the redhead rushed out of the door, “You know him Aziraphale?”. “Oh, I think Aziraphale knows that boy very well from the looks of things.” Tracy spoke with a smirk and a knowing tone. She prided herself on being able to sense people’s true feelings, especially when it involved romance. She was a romantic at heart, and watching the pair staring into each other's eyes before the interruption made her heart swell. _It’s time that boy moved on and found someone new, his ex was awful to him_ \- she thought, moving to join Aziraphale at the counter, “So, what’s his name?”. 

“Crowley, well, um, his full name is Anthony J. Crowley but he says close friends call him Crowley.” Aziraphale answered, moving cups around in an attempt to look busy. “What does the J stand for?” Tracy pressed, “Dunno, I think it’s just a J.” 

“Aziraphale come and sit down, there’s no one else in the shop and I have lots of questions!” Tracy exclaimed, pulling out the chair next to her and motioning Aziraphale to join her. He had wanted to try to stop thinking about Crowley for at least an hour just to calm down and process what had just happened, but now he was going to have to relive it. 

“So, tell me all about him! How did you meet? How long have you known him? Is he nice? He looked very attractive!” Tracy rambled as Aziraphale’s cheeks managed to become even more scarlet. 

“Okay, fine, I’ll tell you,” he paused for a few short breaths to steady himself, “We met at the re-opening event for Shadwell’s. As soon as he walked in I was enamoured by him. He asked about my name, so I explained it and since then he’s called me angel…” Aziraphale trailed off as Tracy squealed, placing her head on top of her hands to lean closer to the conversation. Watching Tracy get so excited over his interactions with Crowley, caused Aziraphale to nervously giggle. His face settled into a goofy smile as he kept talking, “He pulled a few bad pickups lines then went and sat down. He’s studying Ecology at university so he comes in pretty much everyday after his lectures to do work. He gave me his number before he left and we’ve been good friends ever since.” 

“Just good friends, Aziraphale?” Tracy questioned, as if she could see straight through the barista. “Um- yeah I guess…” 

“Do you like him? You know, _like **like**_ him?” she spoke with a soft tone, letting Aziraphale know she was finished teasing and now genuinely wanted to give him advice. “No! Well, um, maybe?” he muttered, “I don’t know, and I’m certainly not sure how he feels about it.” 

“From what I could see through the window, I think he is into you Aziraphale. I’m never wrong about these things!” Tracy said, “I suppose…” Aziraphale replied. 

“So, are you going to ask him on a date?” she asked, “No! Of course not!” Aziraphale exclaimed, shocked at the thought of asking the redhead out. Just the idea sent anxiety throughout his entire body, his hands doing a slight shake for good measure. “I know you’re always right but, I just don’t think I’m ready to do something like that. It’s too out there. Not me.” Aziraphale spoke while fixing his bowtie, standing afterwards and returning behind the counter to end the conversation. Tracy let out a small sigh, wishing the young man more self confidence. 

Crowley entered Shadwell’s the next day and was surprised to see someone with jet black hair and many facial piercings behind the counter. “I’ll get an iced mocha please, also is Aziraphale working today?”, “That’ll be right with you! No, I’m covering his shift for today.” Disappointed and slightly concerned, the student got to work and managed to complete his assignment in one night, which was highly unusual. The difference between Aziraphale and this new barista was jarring. Not only their appearance was almost opposite from Aziraphale, but they didn’t seem to have the same flow his usual barista had. Aziraphale worked methodically, knowing the correct way to do things down to the second, but this new barista only just managed to stumble their way through orders. _Probably new_ , Crowley determined. It was relaxing for Crowley to watch Aziraphale work, almost as if the barista was dancing, his work had such a rhythm to it. 

When Crowley didn't see Aziraphale working for a couple of days, he got really worried. Either he'd completely misread the situation and went too far, or something had happened to Aziraphale. On the other hand, he'd gotten to know the new barista slightly. His name was Adam, he liked indie music and was very interested in conspiracy theories. He was a fascinating guy, but Crowley would much rather be having a conversation with Aziraphale about the weather. The two had only started talking because Crowley kept asking to see Aziraphale and Adam had caught on to the situation quickly. 

It was Friday, and Crowley entered Shadwell's to the sight of the new barista for the third day in a row. It was getting ridiculous, and Crowley wasn't used to pining like this. That wasn't what he did. Before ordering his drink, he decided to stare at the contact list on his phone. He opened the profile for **Angel** and his finger hovered over the 'new message' button. 

"Go on, do it." Adam was suddenly behind him, balancing empty cups in his arms. "You keep asking to see him Anthony, so message him and go see him!", he urged the student further before going behind the counter to dump the cups in the sink. _Fuck it_ , he thought, _what's the worst that could happen_. So he pressed on the 'new message' button. 

And then he didn't type anything. All of his usual go to texts fell out of his head so he just stared at his phone. Eventually he came back to his senses and crafted a text - 

**Crowley : Hey Aziraphale, I haven't seen you in a few days so I thought I'd check up. You doing ok?**

He pressed send and waited. It was already later than he usually showed up to Shadwell's, since he'd gotten held up working in the library. He considered just going home to sulk to B, but just as he was about to get up, he got a reply. 

**Aziraphale : Hi Crowley! I'm doing okay, I just had a few weird shifts. How are you?**

Crowley stared at the message in excitement - _He wasn’t avoiding me!_ He quickly sent his reply, deciding to shoot his shot and ask to catch up with Aziraphale. 

**Crowley : I've had some strange days at uni myself. Why don't we meet up for a drink to catch up angel? I know a great bar that should be pretty quiet tonight**

Crowley waited in anticipation for the barista's reply. Each second that passed, the more anxious he got and just as he thought that maybe this time he had taken it too far- his phone buzzed. 

**Aziraphale : That sounds like a fine idea Crowley. Meet me outside Shadwell's at 7pm? :)**

The redhead smiled at Aziraphale's use of old emoticons instead of emojis, sending back a quick 'see you then angel' reply before jumping up to leave the shop. "I take it Aziraphale got back to you?" Adam questioned Crowley as the redhead was making his way to the door, "Yeah we're going for drinks!" Crowley exclaimed, a hop in his step as he left the shop. 

Crowley busted through the door to his accommodation, scaring the shit out of Beelzebub. “What the fuck Crowley?”, they shouted as the redhead ran towards his room. 

“I’m going out for drinks with Aziraphale!”, Crowley had ran back into the living room to ramble to Beelzebub about it, but they quickly replied, “Go get ready then!” It was already 6:30 and Shadwell’s was around a 15 minute walk from his place, so Crowley was going to have to get a wiggle on if he wanted to be on time and not be a sweating, out of breath mess when Aziraphale saw him. 

Crowley hopped around his room while he squeezed into his tightest skinny jeans. He had to button his shirt twice, since he did it wrong the first time and then he methodically tucked it into his jeans. After pulling on his ‘nice’ boots (which were the ones with the least amount of mud caked onto the bottom) and his usual denim jacket, he left as Beelzebub called out, “Good luck!”. 

Crowley already tended to walk quite fast, so in his panic about being late to meet Aziraphale, he arrived 10 minutes earlier than the agreed upon time. At 6:59, Crowley got worried that Aziraphale had changed his mind, but within two minutes the barista walked around the corner. Crowley was both shocked and not shocked at all from the sight of Aziraphale. He had expected him to wear something different from his usual work attire, but at the same time, Crowley couldn’t imagine Aziraphale in any other outfit (save for differently patterned and coloured bow ties and shirts). 

“Hello Crowley! Have you been waiting long?” Aziraphale asked when he reached the redhead. “No, I just got here, angel.” Crowley lied, not wanting Aziraphale to read too much into the fact he was early. 

“So, where are we going?” the barista questioned, shivering in his jacket, despite the fact he had wrapped up warm before leaving his place. Crowley stood in his thin shirt and denim jacket with seemingly no care about the temperature, something Aziraphale couldn’t understand. _It’s bloody freezing and he hasn’t even got his hands in his pockets_ , he thought to himself while waiting for Crowley to respond. 

“There’s a small pub that I’ve been to for trivia nights before with some people from my uni course, it’s normally pretty quiet so we’ll get a good chance to uhm- chat.” Crowley trailed off, spinning on one heel in the direction of the bar, “this way, angel.” he gestured in the correct direction and waited for Aziraphale to start walking before sauntering next to him. 

The walk there was an uneventful few minutes, Aziraphale was talking about some weird customer interaction from work while Crowley nodded and smiled. A lot of the time, it was Crowley rambling about University to Aziraphale so it was nice for the tables to be turned. Aziraphale supposed it was because he always had the same shifts at work, the same routine week in, week out, so he never had the variety to lead to any interesting stories. Crowley was enjoying this slightly chattier Aziraphale. After the incident, he had worried this catch up would be incredibly awkward, but it was just enjoyable. Talking to his friend- no best friend again after a few days was invigorating. 

“It’s this one here,” Crowley piped up and opened the door, stepping to the side to make room for the barista. Aziraphale read the sign above the door, “Eden?” before walking through the threshold. “You should feel right at home, angel” Crowley winked as Aziraphale passed him. _Oh fuck_ , thought Aziraphale, _how am I going to survive this night?_ Without the back of Shadwell’s to hide in when he got too flustered, Aziraphale wasn’t sure how he could cope with Crowley’s light flirting. The worst part was, he was never sure if Crowley was actually flirting with him or not. Watching him interact with Hastur made Aziraphale a lot more confused on how Crowley acted with friends. 

Crowley went straight for the bar while Aziraphale went to grab a table nearby, “What would you like, angel?” Crowley shouted over, “Whatever you’re having dear!” Aziraphale replied as he fought his jacket to hang over the chair. He sat down and took a moment to look around the bar. Most of the walls had been carved into so they could house a multitude of books, while vintage paintings hung on the others. Aziraphale scanned the books on the shelf next to him and spotted many he had read, or intended to read. 

“Having fun there?” Crowley asked, causing Aziraphale to jump as he approached the table with a pint in each hand. “Yeah this place is amazing! Oh wait let me-” the barista reached for his wallet, but Crowley placed a hand on his arm, “This rounds on me, angel.” Aziraphale smiled while his face was heating up, although the lighting in the bar was low enough that it was hard for anyone else to tell. 

“So are there many books there that you’ve read?” Crowley questioned, sending Aziraphale into a passionate rant about literature. It was refreshing, as Crowley was not a big reader himself and neither were the people he hung out with. The way he talked with his hands, the dramatic raising of his eyebrows and the sparkle in his eye when he _really_ enjoyed a book enamoured Crowley. _His lips look so soft- fuck_ , his internal monologue was making it a lot harder to pay attention to Aziraphale. He grabbed his drink to steady himself and took a large gulp. Crowley repeated this pattern for half an hour before he put his half empty glass down next to Aziraphale’s barely touched drink. The barista had taken a brief break to get his breath back, so Crowley jumped in. 

“You’ve barely touched your drink, angel,” he gestured to Aziraphale’s drink, “Oh, yes, I’m terribly sorry dear I’ve been talking an awful lot haven’t I?” he replied with an embarrassed giggle. “It’s okay Aziraphale, I like listening to you talk.” Aziraphale almost choked on his drink at the compliment, turning slightly more scarlet while trying to catch up with the student. “I don’t tend to drink much, you know.” Aziraphale stated once he had drank a reasonable amount, “How come, angel?” “I just don’t really get the opportunity to go out, well apart from work.” Aziraphale trailed off, moving his gaze down into the depths of his glass. “That just means we’ll have to do more things together then!” Crowley replied, raising his glass towards Aziraphale. 

“To um- friendship?” He toasted while Aziraphale brought his glass to meet Crowley’s. “Yes, uh- to friendship!” The pair’s glasses met with a sound and they both took a drink. They both felt equally as awkward about the toast to friendship, but neither would mention it. Aziraphale asked Crowley about how university was going to quickly change the subject, so the pair moved on. 

4 pints later, Crowley felt a firm hand on shoulder. In his tipsy state, he continued staring at Aziraphale who had adopted a confused expression. Brows furrowed and eyes squinting to try and determine who was standing above Crowley, Aziraphale finally figured it out. With an accusatory finger pointing towards the person, he drunkenly shouted, “Hastur!” Crowley decided he should probably turn around, and as he did he could see that Aziraphale was correct. Hastur stood above Crowley smirking, keeping one hand on the redhead’s shoulder. 

“You having a drink with your boyfriend, Anthony?” Hastur questioned, quietly chuckling while stepping to the side of the table so he could see both their faces. The confused expression washed back over Aziraphale’s face as Crowley’s eyes widened and his face turned red. “That’s not- um- we’re not- we’re not together.” Crowley rambled as he watched the realisation settle into Aziraphale’s features. An even darker blush settled over the barista’s face and neck as he slightly shrank into his seat. _I’m too drunk for this_ , he thought, shifting his gaze between Crowley and Hastur, opting to say nothing. 

“Okay whatever you say Anthony. Nice to see you Aziraphale!” Hastur walked away, having accomplished what he set out to do as soon as he saw the redhead and the blond barista sitting together. “S-sorry about that, angel. Hastur has a tendency to make situations very awkward.” Crowley explained, hoping to salvage the night. 

“Think am going to go to the bathroom, dear,'' Aziraphale slurred while gripping the table to stand up and head in the direction of the ‘toilet’ sign. “Can you manage on your own?” Crowley questioned. Aziraphale was quite the light weight so trying to keep pace with Crowley probably hadn’t been the best idea. “Am fine Crowley.” he muttered as he did his best attempt at a normal walk. Crowley watched him as far as he could from his seat, then put his head in his hands. _It was going so well, fucking Hastur_ , he cursed his coursemate. Since Aziraphale had already finished his drink, Crowley decided to do the same so they could leave when the barista got back to the table. 

Aziraphale battled against gravity to make his way into a stall. He pushed the seat cover down and slumped onto it. “Fuck” he whispered, running his hands down his face in frustration. After taking a moment to compose himself, then relieve himself, he strolled back to the table to the sight of two empty glasses. And no Crowley. He quickly spun around (which was not a good idea) to check the bar and saw Crowley knocking back some whiskey. He stumbled over to the bar, “Could you get me one, dear?” Crowley turned to see Aziraphale hanging onto the bar like his life depended on it. Putting the empty glass on the bar and taking a sharp inhalation to help easy the burn of the alcohol, he gently reached out to one of Aziraphale’s arms to help support the drunk. 

“I think it’s time I took you home so you can get in bed, angel.” Crowley stated, watching Aziraphale giggle. “Bed? Are you going to join me Crowley?” Aziraphale spoke with a wink, his giggling increasing as even in his drunken state he could still sense how flustered he made the redhead. 

“No, angel, now how far do you live? Should I call a taxi?” Crowley questioned, his main priority being getting the barista home safe and sound. “Mmm- no I’m fine walking on my own honestly it’s no bother,” he trailed off, getting slightly distracted. “Aziraphale, I am walking you home, where do you live?” Crowley spoke matter of factly. He managed to get Aziraphale’s address out of him so after thanking the bartender and grabbing both of their jackets, Crowley pulled the blond out of the pub and started the drunken journey home. 

Throughout the night it had become more and more apparent how much Aziraphale didn’t drink regularly, so didn’t know his limits. Crowley, being a student, tended to go out most weekends at different events to just try to let his hair down to escape the stress of university every so often. He had plenty of experience drinking excessive amounts and stumbling home, and knew his limits. 

Crowley had snaked his arm around Aziraphale’s waist as they left the bar to help better support the drunk and the latter had only realised this when they reached his front door. “You had your arm around me!” he spoke with an accusatory tone. “Sorry, was that okay? I just didn’t want you to fall over, angel.” Crowley took a step back, worried he had crossed a boundary accidentally. 

“No! It was nice. Thank you for walking me home Crowley, you’re a good friend.” Aziraphale mumbled as he fumbled to get his keys from his pocket. He finally reached them and gasped, causing Crowley to giggle. Sure, the ‘good friend’ comment stung, but he did enjoy spending time with the barista and the night had been a good one. Aziraphale unlocked his door and stumbled in, “Goodnight Crowley” he spoke with a stupidly wide smile spread across his face. 

“Goodnight Aziraphale, I’ll see you Sunday.” 

“Sunday? What’s happening on Sunday?” 

“Earlier I asked when your next shift at Shadwell’s is so I can come say hi, you said Sunday.” 

“Oh yeah! I forgot.” Aziraphale giggled. “Get some rest, angel.” And with that, Crowley started his journey home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun with this chapter! This one is the longest so far and I still have a lot of ideas so expect longer chapters in future!  
> I especially loved writing the drunk scene, and it may or may not have been based off the behaviour of me and my mates while we're drunk.  
> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated and feel free to bookmark the work if you want to keep up to date with it :) <3


	5. I can't believe this happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aziraphale is having trouble understanding Crowley's feelings, while Crowley starts a new group assignment with Hastur. In an emotional state, Aziraphale makes a rash decision, and isn't sure how well it will work out for him.

Sunday came along and Crowley strolled to Shadwell’s around the time Aziraphale’s shift would be ending. He had enjoyed seeing the barista out of work, where he wouldn’t get called away to serve a customer every five minutes. During their catch up on Friday, the pair managed to actually have full conversations, although towards the end of the night this turned into just drunkenly rambling together. It was still enjoyable and Crowley decided it would be nice to spend more time with Aziraphale when the barista wasn’t working. 

He sauntered through the door, as usual, and watched Aziraphale’s face light up from behind the coffee machine. “Hello, Crowley!” He called out, while wiping the machine down with a damp cloth. “Hey angel! When does your shift finish?” Crowley responded as if he hadn’t memorised Aziraphale’s shifts when he’d drunkenly listed them the other night. 

“In about 2 minutes, dear.” 

“Perfect, I’ll grab a table.” 

Once Aziraphale finished his shift, he joined Crowley. They managed to have more meaningful conversations this time, since they didn’t have alcohol to fuel more nonsense. They could both see sides to each other they previously hadn’t. 

It was starting to become apparent to Aziraphale that Crowley wasn’t as tough as he made out to be. Beyond the fiery red hair, punked out denim jacket and combat boots, Crowley was, deep down, quite soft. The way he leaned into conversations when Aziraphale spoke passionately about something sent the barista’s heart racing. Similarly, it seemed that Aziraphale was slowly coming out of his shell. Crowley had watched him transition from being constantly flustered and closing in on himself to regularly hitting back at Crowley’s taunts. It was refreshing, and when Aziraphale had a particularly good come back, Crowley’s heart swelled with pride. It was silly, really, but both were proud of how far they’d seen the other come. 

The next day, Crowley returned to Shadwell’s with a familiar blond. “Angel! Me and Hastur were top of the class for that assignment we did last week!” Crowley shouted while bounding through the shop, “Well done dear!” Aziraphale responded, excited for his friend, but slightly irked at the sight of Hastur. 

“We’ve decided that we’re going to work on group projects together, since last time went well. You don’t mind us working here again do you, angel?” Crowley asked, slight puppy dog eyes that only Aziraphale could recognise, “Of course Crowley.” he replied with a smile. Hastur had already begun to set up in the corner, so Crowley ordered drinks for the both of them and they got to work on their new project. 

Aziraphale watched the two interact with envy running through his veins. His shift so far had been stressful. Nothing in particular had happened, he was just having one of those days. Crowley, as usual, made plenty of jokes to keep Hastur giggling like a schoolgirl. _That should be me_ , Aziraphale thought, remembering how fun he had been having with Crowley recently. Hastur would paw at Crowley when he made a comment, while throwing his head back in laughter. The slight touches and knees knocking under the table was sending Aziraphale up a height. He had to make sure he wasn’t glaring too much so he wouldn’t send other customers packing. 

_Why am I so pissed off?_ He pondered, _he’s just talking to Hastur, and touching him and flirting with him and_ \- the shop bell interrupted his spiralling, announcing a customer entering the shop. Aziraphale busied himself with making the order to avoid thinking any further on the issue. 

At the end of his shift, Aziraphale was exhausted. Crowley and Hastur had left together half an hour before closing, talking about food plans so they could keep discussing their assignment. Ugh. Keeping himself together had taken a lot out of Aziraphale, he needed to go home and relax. Since had the closing shift, he had to clean and prepare for the next days opening. Aziraphale welcomed this, appreciative of something to get his mind from Crowley. Although, he ended up in a state of self reflection instead. 

He came to the conclusion that he’d fallen for Crowley, as he tended to do with any guy who showed any sort of interest in him. Since the two had met up for drinks, and from what he could remember from the night, Crowley seemed to care for Aziraphale. Then the following Sunday when him and Crowley sat for hours talking in Shadwell’s, uninterrupted by any work, was amazing! It felt like an insult for Crowley to bring Hastur along to the shop and spend almost the entirety of Aziraphale’s shift flirting and touching him. _Maybe I’m reading too much into this_ , he reasoned, _I don’t control Crowley, plus he was always quite flirty with me_. This revelation sent Aziraphale into another spiral. Was he reading the signs wrong? Again? Had he learnt nothing from all of his previous heart breaks? Apparently not. 

After cleaning up, Aziraphale gathered his things and took a seat to finish the cup of tea he’d made himself in an attempt to get a head start on the relaxation he desperately needed to indulge in. He opened his phone to find a multitude of messages from a random number. 

**?: Hey Aziraphale, it’s Gabriel. I wanted to apologise for how things ended. You didn’t deserve to be treated that way and I’m so so sorry. I’m full of regret and I want to show you how sorry I am.**

**?: I’m coming back to town for a while, so I was wondering if you wanted to catch up? It’s okay if you don’t, I just really want to make it up to you.**

**?: Please Aziraphale, I’m sorry.**

Aziraphale winced at the messages, mind racing with thoughts about his relationship with Gabriel. He was right, it had ended badly, because the relationship had turned into a bad one. Near the end, Gabriel would just put Aziraphale down constantly, and it took a real toll on him. Talking to Tracy had helped him build up the courage to stand up to Gabriel. 

The night they broke up was awful. Gabriel must’ve had a bad day at work and came home to take it out on him, again. Aziraphale had finally had enough, and had just returned home from a pep talk from Tracy. He was confident, he didn’t deserve to be talked down to. As soon as Gabriel started ranting, asking Aziraphale why he hadn’t gotten food ready for him coming home, hadn’t done the dishes, he stood up with his head held high. He marched up to Gabriel and sharply said, “You cannot talk to me like this anymore!” He was impressed that his voice didn’t waver while he glared up at Gabriel. 

Gabriel, on the other hand, was not impressed. He just kept shouting and screaming, so Aziraphale just walked out the door. Tracy and the Sergeant agreed to let Aziraphale stay on their couch until he could get his own place, under the condition he didn’t get back together with Gabriel. These were terms Aziraphale was more than willing to accept. 

Memories flooding back into his head just piled a lot more emotional baggage into Aziraphale’s head, and it was just too much. A few tears fell down his face as he sighed, resting his head onto his crossed arms which were sitting on the table. _Why now?_ He questioned, _why me?_

Even though he knew how badly Gabriel had treated him and could fully see how awful the situation was, he did wonder if he had changed. He thought back to how things had been when they first got together. Gabriel had been wonderful! Surprising him with little things, although it was mostly generic romantic things, but it was the thought that counted. Aziraphale just felt confused. Spending the day watching Hastur and Crowley flirt and sent his mind into a frenzy, and now this? He sipped his tea as he pondered about his options. _It seems like Crowley likes Hastur, or at least isn’t interested in me. But Gabriel is interested in me. Maybe I could use him to get over Crowley?_ He concluded, deciding this was, indeed, a _very_ good idea. 

It wasn’t. 

But Aziraphale defended the decision to himself. _I could at least catch up with him! For all I know, he’s a completely different person now! And if he isn’t, I’ll back off. Anyway, I can’t keep pining over Crowley, I’ll positively die from the heart ache._

And with that, he replied to Gabriel. 

**Aziraphale: Hello Gabriel, I hope you have been well. I think it would be good if we caught up. Did you have anything specific in mind?**

He pressed send and got up to finish locking up Shadwell’s. Once he’d put down the shutters and set the security alarm, he stood outside checking his phone again. To his surprise, he’d already received a reply. 

**Gabriel: Thank you so much Aziraphale! I’m so glad you agreed, I’m going to make this up to you. I could get a reservation at that sushi place you like?**

Aziraphale’s heart fluttered, _he remembered_. He felt like this time, things were going to be different. Gabriel seemed really genuine and wanted to talk like adults, not throw a tantrum like a child. So, Aziraphale agreed with a smile across his face. 

**Aziraphale: That sounds good Gabriel, let me know the time and place.**

He barely got to walk 5 steps before he received another message. 

**Gabriel: Don’t worry, I’ll come pick you up. Does 7PM on Wednesday sound good? x**

Aziraphale felt slightly anxious about the kiss at the end of the message, but he typed out a message in agreement of the plans anyway, praying that he hadn’t made the wrong decision. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! <3  
> I really rammed up the angst in this chapter, and I'm sorry but it will continue for a while. It'll all be worth it in the end though! I know this chapter is on the shorter side compared to the last two, but this felt like a good place to end it.  
> Kudos and comments are very much appreciated, and make sure to bookmark the work if you want to keep updated :P  
> Or, you could follow my good omens tumblr blog: very-gay-omens.tumblr.com, where I share my works to after they've been posted on AO3 :D


	6. Am I under control?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aziraphale meets up with Gabriel for a catch up, while Crowley sits at home with Beelzebub. Somehow, Crowley and Aziraphale end the night outside Shadwell's in an embrace.

Crowley strolled into Shadwell’s early Wednesday afternoon with a proposal for Aziraphale. There was a literature-themed trivia night happening that night at Eden that he thought Aziraphale would be perfect for. Unfortunately, Aziraphale was busy. When Crowley asked what he had on, just to make conversation, Aziraphale decided to hold back on revealing his plans with Gabriel. 

Aziraphale had mentioned Gabriel only a handful of times to Crowley, and he could already tell Crowley hated Gabriel. If he knew Aziraphale was going for a meal with him tonight he would probably freak out. But Aziraphale was his own person, and wasn’t going to act based on what others wanted him to do anymore. He told Crowley he had just gotten a new book, which was true, that he was very excited to start reading, which was also true. However, he had, in fact, already started reading the book. 

Aziraphale felt a twinge of guilt at the look of disappointment buried in Crowley’s eyes. “Oh,” the redhead whispered quietly, “No problem, angel. I’d best get to work on my assignment.” Crowley grabbed his drink and slumped into a seat. He had been really trying to make an effort to see Aziraphale more after what happened the week prior. Spending meaningful time with the barista was making him fall faster and faster, and at this point, he wasn’t sure if he wanted it to stop. Crowley supposed that it was quite short notice, and he definitely didn’t want to disrupt Aziraphale’s reading plans, so he didn’t push the barista. _There’ll be another trivia night_ , he thought, settling down to get some work done. 

Aziraphale was becoming more and more anxious for his meeting with Gabriel by the second. The last couple hours of his shift were painful. He didn’t like keeping things from Crowley. In fact, this was the first time he had done this, so that already had him on edge. 

Aziraphale finished his shift before Crowley left so stopped by his table to say a brief goodbye. Once he was home, he started to have doubts. What if Gabriel hadn’t changed? It would be a complete waste of a night! Plus he would be missing out on learning how much literature trivia Crowley knows. He sighed as he continued getting ready. Aziraphale checked the time and saw that Gabriel would be arriving within half an hour, so got a move on. 

He finished getting ready around 10 minutes later so he decided to sit with a book until Gabriel showed up. He just kept reading the same sentence over and over again. It had nothing to do with the sentence itself, he just couldn’t concentrate. His knee bounced rapidly in front of him, too anxious to sit still. Aziraphale was starting to think this hadn’t been a good idea at all. He pulled out his phone to start to craft a text to Gabriel, saying he wasn’t sure he was ready to see him again, when he heard a car horn outside. 

Aziraphale shot up and peered out of the window, he saw Gabriel sitting in the driver’s seat of a car. “Shit,” Aziraphale whispered. _I guess I’m doing this then_ , he determined. He gathered up his things, locked up the house and jumped into the passenger side of the car. 

Gabriel had a wide smile across his face, “Aziraphale! I’m so glad you agreed to this!”, “Hello Gabriel. I’m going to say this now because I don’t want you to have the wrong impression. If you do anything similar to how you acted when we were together, I’m leaving. I’m giving you one more chance, and if you blow it, then we’re done. For good.” Aziraphale stated, wanting to take no chances with his heart. 

“I understand Aziraphale. I’ve had time to reflect on how I acted and why I acted that way. Things are going to be different this time Aziraphale, I promise.” Gabriel spoke softly. Aziraphale could definitely sense a change in Gabriel demeanour. “Let’s get going then?” Aziraphale questioned with a smile in return, _I’ll be the judge of that_. 

The drive was a short one, and it passed with the pair in silence. Aziraphale used the time to ground himself. He rubbed his hands up and down his thighs and took deep breaths. He’d been tense since the moment Crowley had walked into Shadwell’s with Hastur and hadn’t been able to properly relax since. He stared out of the window and watched the buildings fly past, enjoying the quiet in his mind. 

His makeshift alone time ended when he recognised the turn in for the restaurant, Gabriel quietly stating, “We’re here Aziraphale.” The two stepped out of the car, Gabriel rushing over to the restaurant door to hold it open for Aziraphale. The barista got flashbacks to last week, when Crowley held the door to Eden open for him with a wink. Crowley had been way more suave about the whole thing, whereas Gabriel had to do an awkward mini run to get ahead. _He’s trying_ , Aziraphale considered as he stepped through the door while he mumbled a quick, “Thank you” to Gabriel. 

Gabriel claimed the reservation and the pair were shown to their table. Gabriel pulled out Aziraphale’s chair for him, causing the barista’s cheeks to warm slightly. He smiled at the sight or Gabriel’s face doing the same in response. It felt like when they first got together, flustered and Gabriel constantly trying to impress Aziraphale. He revelled in the nostalgia that came with spending time with Gabriel. Although he definitely felt more feelings for Crowley, Aziraphale still cared for Gabriel. 

The two ordered and Gabriel started asking Aziraphale what he’s up to, and the small talk turned into fully fledged conversations. After all, they did have 4 years to talk about. Gabriel had kept studying at university and moved away to become a part of a research team in London. He’d come home for a few months to have a break, since the team had just completed a huge research project. Gabriel spoke passionately about his work, which was quite different from what Aziraphale could remember. When they’d been together, Gabriel seemed to have little to no interest in what he was studying, so it was refreshing to see his enthusiasm. 

Aziraphale spoke about how he’d gotten taken on by Tracy and the Sergeant at Shadwell’s, then recently took over the shop. Gabriel had asked what he did with his time off, and chuckled when Aziraphale came back with, “Reading mostly.” 

“You haven’t changed a bit Aziraphale.” Gabriel stated, taking a sip of his drink and continuing with his meal. This didn’t sit well with Aziraphale, it gave him a gut feeling that something wasn’t right. Maybe he was just taking it too personally, but Aziraphale was incredibly proud of the progress he’d made in the past 4 years. Once he’d broken it off with Gabriel, he slowly built himself back up. His confidence, his self esteem and his motivations had been wrecked from trying to cater to Gabriel, and **he** was the one to put himself back together. 

“No, I’m not having this.” Aziraphale muttered, a confused expression came across Gabriel’s face, “What are you talking about Aziraphale?” Gabriel asked. “You’re really saying I haven’t changed since we broke up? I was so doubtful about everything I did, I had no personal life, no friends and no confidence.” Aziraphale sat up straight, keeping his head held high and voice strong. 

“I felt worthless, and it’s taken me this long to trust myself again. This isn’t going to work, things went too badly last time, and I refuse to put myself in that position again.” Aziraphale stood, grabbed his jacket, paid for his half of the meal then left the restaurant. Gabriel just sat there, shocked. He didn’t know why he’d said that, because Aziraphale definitely had changed since they’d been together. He let out a sigh before continuing with his meal. 

Crowley didn’t end up going to the trivia night, instead he sat with Beelzebub watching whatever TV they could find. Crowley had been keeping Beelzebub up to date on the Aziraphale situation, and to them it sounded like Aziraphale was in love with Crowley. Whatever the case was, they knew for sure that Crowley was in love with Aziraphale. Crowley had been so excited to ask Aziraphale to this trivia night, but came home sulking after he declined. 

They had been spending the night trying to cheer Crowley up. It had worked slightly but they knew he was still upset. Crowley received a text and leaned over to grab his phone from the coffee table. He saw Aziraphale’s name light up the screen and his heart started racing. 

**Aziraphale: Hello Crowley, how is the trivia night going?**

**Crowley: I didn’t end up going, are you enjoying your reading?**

Crowley informed Beelzebub that he’d received a text from Aziraphale while waiting for a response and tried to focus on the TV, but he was too anxious for a reply from Aziraphale to pay any attention. 

**Aziraphale: It’s a good book, but I’m a bit bored now. Do you fancy meeting up for a coffee?**

Crowley was surprised by Aziraphale’s proposal. The barista wasn’t one to put down a good book to leave the house. Whatever the reasoning, Crowley was more than happy to take part in the outing. He crafted a response before jumping up to grab his jacket and wallet. 

“You off to see _your angel_?” Beelzebub teased, “Yeah, we’re meeting- hey!”, Crowley sighed and briefly covered his mouth with his hand to hide his smile. _My angel, that’s got a ring to it_ , he fantasised as he bounded out the door in the direction of Shadwell’s. 

Aziraphale stood outside Shadwell’s for a couple of minutes before he saw Crowley saunter around the corner. “Hey angel!” He shouted and Aziraphale could feel himself physically relax at the sight of Crowley. _This is how things are supposed to be_ , Aziraphale thought, a wide smile spreading across his face to match the smirk plastered across Crowley’s. 

“Hello Crowley!” Aziraphale greeted as the redhead walked up the door and held it open for the barista to enter first. This felt way more natural than when Gabriel was trying to be courteous to Aziraphale, because it was something that came naturally to Crowley. 

“What are you having, dear? My treat.” Aziraphale offered, “Are you sure, angel?” “Of course!” “I’ll have whatever you’re having then.” And with that Crowley dumped his jacket into a booth and gestured for Aziraphale to hand over his own jacket. “Thank you,” Aziraphale said before going over to the counter to order. Crowley carefully folded the barista’s jacket before joining him at the counter. 

“I got us hot chocolates!” Aziraphale excitedly stated, eyes wide staring up at Crowley. He replied with a simple grin back at Aziraphale, picking up one the mugs and handing it to him. Their fingers brushed together during the exchange, causing colour to flood into Aziraphale’s cheeks and a soft gasp from Crowley. They shared a nervous giggle before Crowley grabbed his mug and they returned to the booth. 

It didn’t take long for the two of them to fall into conversation. Adam was on shift that night so Crowley spoke of the conspiracy theories he had been informed about when Aziraphale wasn’t working his usual shifts. They laughed along at how ridiculous it all was in between sips of their drinks. 

Aziraphale felt way better than he had a few hours ago, sitting in that sushi restaurant with Gabriel. In the coffee shop, the pair shared meaningful gazes, and _accidentally_ grazed hands a few times. Before they knew it, Adam was closing up the coffee shop, although said that the two could stay in for a few more minutes until he had to lock up. 

“Well this has been a wonderful evening Crowley!” Aziraphale beamed, picking up his jacket and throwing it over his shoulders. Crowley followed suit and prepared to leave Shadwell’s, “Wonderful indeed, angel.” 

Adam left the backroom and told the pair they’d have to get going so he could set the alarm and lock up, so they stepped outside. “I guess this is where we part ways,” Aziraphale anxiously laughed, “I suppose it is, angel.” Crowley responded. 

They met each other’s eyes and kept eye contact for a moment, neither daring to be the one to break it. “Crowley, dear, could I have a hug? It’s been a long day.” Aziraphale finally broke the silence. The question was a surprise to Crowley, but he was more than happy to indulge in Aziraphale’s wish. “Of course Aziraphale,” Crowley agreed, stepping forwards with outstretched arms. 

Aziraphale carefully entered Crowley’s embrace, snaking his arms around his back and pressing his face into the redhead’s neck. Crowley gently rested his chin in blond curls and let out a deep sigh. “Everything alright, dear?” a soft voice came from around Crowley’s chest. “Everything’s perfect, angel.” Crowley tightened his embrace slightly and Aziraphale reciprocated. 

“Are you guys going to stand out here all night? Go home.” Adam spoke, sending the pair flying apart in shock, before locking the doors and walking away. With scarlet faces, Crowley and Aziraphale awkwardly laughed. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow Aziraphale.” 

“See you tomorrow Crowley.” 

And with that, they went their separate ways. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! <3  
> I had a lot of fun with the second part of this chapter and I've got a clear idea on what direction the story is going in :)  
> I'm glad I've gotten back towards the fluff with these two. The next chapter will probably be quite long (maybe around 3k) so there'll be a bit of a wait for that.  
> Kudos and comments are very much appreciated, and make sure to bookmark the work if you want to keep updated :P  
> Or, you could follow my good omens tumblr sideblog: very-gay-omens.tumblr.com, where I share my works to after they've been posted here


	7. I know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beelzebub suggests hosting a house party so they can help set Crowley and Aziraphale up, and the redhead can't resist.  
> Although, now he has to go through the nerve-wracking process of actually inviting Aziraphale.

On returning to his accomodation, Crowley leant against the door for a few minutes before entering. He knew Beelzebub would want to know all about his evening, but Crowley needed a moment to calm down. His heart was still racing and his cheeks were still flushed. He felt stronger for Aziraphale than he had for anyone else, that it was almost scary. But the barista helped calm him down. He was immensely grateful that Aziraphale had been the one to ask for physical affection first, since Crowley wasn’t sure it was something the other was open to. 

This was also building up the evidence that Aziraphale _did_ like him. He was still on the fence about it, but once he got inside and spoke to Beelzebub about it, they confirmed his suspicions. Crowley was desperate to make a move, the longing he felt for Aziraphale was consuming him. Not that he’d ever admit it, but his daydreams during lectures would mostly consist of Aziraphale and seeing the barista at Shadwell’s was always the highlight of his day. 

“So,” Beelzebub announced as they entered the kitchen the next morning, watching Crowley shovel a combination of toast and tea into his mouth. “What if we had a houseparty tomorrow? We could invite a bunch of people from uni and, more importantly, you could invite Aziraphale!” They spoke enthusiastically. Beelzebub knew Crowley was afraid to make a move with Aziraphale, so they decided that they should really help him. Crowley looked at them with contemplation splashed across his face while he finished his food. 

“Are you trying to set me up with him?” Crowley asked, “Yes, of course I am Crowley.” Beelzebub stated sincerely, which wasn’t a tone they often used, especially with Crowley, so he knew that they genuinely wanted to help him. “Okay, I’ll ask him today if he’s free tomorrow when I stop by Shadwell’s.” “Goodluck!” and with that, Crowley swung open the front door and made his way to university. 

Crowley spent a lot of his day with his knees bouncing and fingers fidgeting. The longer he thought about this party and the idea that he _might_ ask Aziraphale out scared the shit out of him. He was starting to doubt if he even had the courage to ask the barista to the house party, but on his way to Shadwell’s he received a text from Beelzebub. 

**Beelzebub: Make sure you ask your angel to the house party! I’ve already invited a bunch of people over.**

It wasn’t exactly encouragement, but it felt like the final push he needed to go through with the plan. _I can do this_ , he thought, his pace quickening to ensure he could get to Aziraphale before his new burst of confidence dwindled. 

He reached Shadwell’s and took a moment to compose himself before walking past the windows. _You got this_ , he pumped himself up as he finally made his entrance, mouth falling slightly agape at the sight of the queue. 

_Fuck!_ Crowley looked at the queue and decided to grab a table before they were all taken. He tried to throw a smile towards Aziraphale, but the barista was too busy trying to make his way through the onslaught of customers. Crowley pulled his work out of his bag and made a start, making an attempt to distract himself from worrying about popping the question. 

It took half an hour for the queue to end, and for Aziraphale to take his well earned break. In the middle of the commotion, he had spotted Crowley sitting at a table surrounded by papers, as usual. Even though the redhead’s working technique was incredibly chaotic, Aziraphale found calm in the sight. Or, perhaps, it was the sight of Crowley that calmed him down, but the barista didn’t have time to think about that as he made yet another order. 

Crowley had gotten so distracted with his work that he didn’t realise the queue was gone until Aziraphale slumped into the seat next to him with a sigh, leaving him slightly startled. “Busy day I’m guessing, angel?” Crowley asked, a slight amount of colour grazed across his cheeks. 

“Yes, dear, it was quite the unexpected rush. Maybe it’s because of the weather?” Aziraphale pondered in return with a polite smile. Crowley turned in his seat to better face the barista, “Aziraphale, me and Beelzebub are going to have a house party at our place tomorrow and I was wondering if you would like to come along?” the student quickly blurted out, cheeks turning slightly darker, leaving Crowley feeling a lot more vulnerable than he liked. 

Aziraphale’s face changed from relaxed, to shocked then settled in pleasantly surprised. “Oh, Crowley, that sounds lovely! I’ve got the afternoon shift tomorrow so I could pop over after then? You’ll have to let me know your address though!” 

“Nonsense angel, I’ll come along to Shadwell’s to pick you up and walk you there!” Crowley offered with his returning confidence. “Are you sure? I’m sure I could manage to find you on my own.” Aziraphale reasoned. 

“I insist!” Crowley responded, “Plus, if you want, you could stay over? It’ll save you calling a taxi.” he further presented, hoping to avoid crossing any boundaries. 

“I suppose it would be easier,” Aziraphale trailed off, “are you sure it won’t be too much bother? Won’t Beelzebub have a problem with it?” 

“Trust me, they won’t mind.” Crowley countered with a knowing smile. “So, is that a yes, angel?” the redhead pressed, “Yes dear, I’d love to attend.” Aziraphale responded with a pleasant smile. 

The two shared light conversation until the barista had to return to the counter. Crowley got on with his work to get ahead. He hoped that, if he played his cards right, he could spend a lot of Saturday with Aziraphale, so he wanted to ensure he wouldn’t fall behind with his assignments. 

Sometime later, Crowley received a text from Beelzebub saying that the two of them had to start preparing the house for the party, so he packed his things and went to leave Shadwell’s. Aziraphale wasn’t busy so Crowley went over to say goodbye as usual. He hadn’t stopped thinking about the hug the night prior, he’d even found it hard to sleep. 

“I’m off angel, I’ll see you at 6 tomorrow?” Crowley spoke as he walked around to the opening of the counter. Aziraphale stepped closer to him, “Yes, I’m rather looking forward to tomorrow night dear!” 

“Me too, angel,” Crowley smiled in return. He glanced towards the door, then back at Aziraphale and made a subtle gesture with his arms. Luckily, the barista easily picked up on what Crowley was implying, “Come here dear.” he softly spoke. Crowley stepped into Aziraphale’s arms and snaked his own around the blond’s form. Somehow, this hug was better than the last and Crowley was incredibly grateful that Aziraphale understood what he needed. 

He felt his heart rate pick up and cheeks flush, while at the same time he felt more safe than ever before. _I-I’m in love_ , Crowley worked out. He’d been trying to repress his feelings for Aziraphale for a while now, but they had grown too strong for him to ignore any longer. The redhead finally admitted to himself that he was in love with the blond and it felt like a weight lifted off his shoulders. He knew he would have to confess this to Aziraphale soon, but while they embraced, Crowley revelled in his realisation. 

Aziraphale had a similar experience to Crowley during their hug, although he already understood he had fallen for the redhead. This new physical affection was both solidifying his own feelings and building on Aziraphale’s perception of Crowley’s emotions. The barista considered the fact that he was going to be meeting Crowley’s friends, and his housemate, then sleeping at his place. It was enough to make his head spin, but luckily the arms around his midsection were the perfect counterweight to make sure he didn’t topple. 

The two slowly pulled apart at the sound of the doorbell, only this time it wasn’t out of surprise, it was simply that they mutually understood that the barista would now have to actually do his job. Which, unfortunately, wasn’t cuddling with Crowley. 

“See you tomorrow, angel!” the redhead beamed as he left Aziraphale’s arms. 

“See you tomorrow, dear!” the blond sighed contentedly, offering a small wave and a wide smile, both of which were returned by Crowley as he sauntered out of the door. 

Aziraphale turned to serve the new customer, and as he handed their change over, they commented, “You guys make a really cute couple!” before leaving the shop. The blond was left even more flustered and excitedly anxious for the following night. 

Crowley returned home and, after gushing to Beelzebub about Aziraphale for almost an hour, the pair got to work cleaning up their place. Neither of them were particularly messy, but they did tend to leave most chores until they really needed doing. 

Once they finished cleaning up, they collapsed on the couch together. 

“Do you think you’re going to confess to Aziraphale tomorrow then?” Beelzebub asked. 

“I don’t know B, I’m just going to see what happens.” Crowley responded. 

“Are you nervous?” 

“Yep.” Crowley answered, with a pop of the ‘p’. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3  
> Sorry this took so long to upload, I fell out of writing a little bit but I think I'm back into it again :)  
> Kudos and comments are appreciated a ton and make sure to bookmark this work if you want to keep up to date.  
> My good omens sideblog is: very-gay-omens.tumblr.com if you want to follow me on there :)  
> Thanks again! <3


End file.
